Mermaid's Scar- Cult Manga Review

Rumiko Takahashi might be better known for her quirky comedies and romance tales but her Rumik World series showed her sharper, horror tinged edge. Her Fire Tripper run in Manga Mania was the first complete manga series I read and I purchased quite a few of the OAV adaptations from the Rumik World anthology series including Fire Tripper, Laughing Target and Maris the Wonder Girl.
One of the Rumik World films I had not seen but had read a bit of was Mermaid's Scar. I had picked up a grab bag from my local comic shop and it contained an issue of Mermaid's Scar comic in it but this was not the whole run. I'd only read this one comic and wanted to read more but never found any other issues. Also, I don't think the film was released in the UK. Setting out to right this wrong (and to gain closure after nearly 30 years), I sat down to watch it alongside it's companion piece Mermaid Forest. This is my review for Mermaid's Scar as I have already reviewed Mermaid Forest before.

Whilst doing some research about the film, I found that Mermaid's Scar is one of the many tales that makes up the Mermaid Saga. The series apparently ran sporadically in Japan and the premise is based on the Yao Bikuni, or Happyaku Bikuni legend, where eating the flesh of a mermaid will grant immortality or turn you into a terrible monster called a 'lost soul'.

The series follows Yuta, a young man of about 18 years old, who eats the flesh and is thus immortal. He seeks a way to gain his mortality whilst undergoing The Littlest Hobo or The Incredible Hulk TV show style adventures where he helps people before moving on in his quest.

In Mermaid's Scar, Yuta is joined by Mana, a young woman of similar age and affliction. In this OAV, we are not told how they met but they pass each other off as siblings and travel together.
They meet a young boy, Masato, who is travelling alone to meet up with his mother who lives in a mansion on top of some dramatic cliffs overlooking the ocean. The pair find work at a local building site nearby and see that the relationship between the boy and his mother is terse and abusive. Is there more to this ralationship than meets the eye? Well, when a Lost Soul turns up I'd say yup!

This is a darkly violent OAV with its fair share of blood including someone being shot, piano wired, tied in barbed wire, stabbed with scissors, strangled and then potentially beheaded with an axe. So yes, this isn't (or rather IS) very much your grandpa's Takahashi. The tale is about the perils of losing your humanity when you live forever and  Masato comes across as a real price if work, selfish and self-centred, like any 800 year old 10 year old would be.

This OAV is well animated and the music really sells the mood. It's a shame we didn't get more of this series in the West as I would definitely have invested in it. If you have a spare 50 minutes, this manga is well worth your time of you like twisted little horror films.

I'm now hoping to watch the 2003 Mermaid's Scar series and see if that is a more complete offering of the saga.

LINK: Fire Tripper- Cult Manga Review

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- Monster City- Cult Manga Review

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

Monster City- Cult Manga Review

This is a bit of the throwback and was considered a bit of a classic back in the early days of manga in the UK. Alongside Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s Wicked City and Ninja Scroll, we had the Cyberpunk Collection, Dominion Tank Police, Vampire Hunter D, Crying Freeman and Doomed Megalopolis, these were everywhere wherever manga was available in the early 90s.

Monster City or Monster City Shinjuki as I knew it from advertising in the UK, is a pretty good showcase of 80s animation. The opening fight scene set the mood as good fights against evil, but good loses and an area of Tokyo is take over by the demons. The area goes to pot (and real estate prices tumble) as the demons seek to revive an elder demon god. The son of the hero, Kyoya, is called upon when the President's daughter, Sayaka Rama, to help defeat the forces of evil and save her President father by going to the heart of Demon City Shinjuku, defeat the 3 sub-bosses before facing the acolyte, Rebi Rah, who is aiming to resurrect the eldritch gods from the demon realm.

Overall, the plot is pretty simple and makes sense as it is very videogamey. The animation is gorgeous, fluid and has that Kawajiri sense of style which was very evocative of 'Japanimation' that looked head and shoulders above most other animation studios from the time. The character designs are excellent and have aged pretty well considering it is nearly 40 years old. An aspect I appreciate is that it isn't too fanservicey or cringy but it is the 80s so we still get classics like, "I'm gonna tear his head off and shove it up his a$$". This is one of the most edge lordy things in this manga but then, it was the late 80s so that 'tude fits with the times. More problematic is when our' hero' decides to sleep on the floor and share the bed otherwise he might not be able to help himself to attack the woman who is accompanying him on this mission.

However, I do appreciate that Sayaka has some agency and is determined to find out what is going on in order to save her father. This is tempered by the fact that she is incredibly gullible and almost  gets assaulted before she is saved, but she does get swindled out of cash.

Kyoya is the stereotypical slacker who is a chauvinist but has the potential for greatness through his sword fighting skills, if he inky applied himself. Their team up works as they save each other a couple of times and it all is sealed with a (consensual) kiss after the defeat of 3 henchbeaasts and a disciple before the Elder Demon God's are released into our realm.

The film has voice acting that is indicative of the quality for the time. The American President's daughter sounds Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom plummy British whilst the kid who helps them sounds like the dreadful Slow Poke Rodriguez who has a stereotypical Mexican accent that is from those banned old Tom and Jerry. The kids supposed to be a tween but sounds like an old man who's smoked 20 a day all his life. The dub is so bad but I love it; it is a creature of its time but my gosh is the animation and framing lush.

Overall, whilst definitely not amazing, Monster City is better than most anime from the 80s and isn't too problematic. It's worth the 80 mins or so of your time.

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Last Guardian- Video Games As Art

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost- Classic Animation Review

1969s ‘Scooby Doo! Where Are You?’ was a television animation milestone. Many children around the world watched the Hannah Barbara show over the years, mostly through syndication, and as a result it had constantly gained new generations of fans. It's impact on pop culture was vast too, from its oft-quoted, "I would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for you pesky kids" to "It's old man xyz" to popularising the chasing through different doors sequence, you know the one; the chaser is pursuing the chasee(s) as they enter through one door only to emerge from a different or opposite door.

The show was hot stuff and it was doing well but over the years it lost its lustre and when ‘A Pup Named Scooby Doo’, released in 1991, was not well received it looked like the end of Scooby Doo. Due to the popularity and relative cheapness of shows like ‘Power Rangers’, ‘Saved By the Bell’ and its live action ilk there was a lull in television animation in the mid to late 90s and Scooby Doo looked like it was going to join the limbo of syndicated satellite cartoon show for all posterity.

However, in 1998 the straight to VHS Scooby Doo on Zombie Island animated movie released and helped to revive the series, winning over a whole new legion of fans and reviving interest in the characters. Due to the overwhelming success in sales, a follow up film was commissioned and so, we had ‘Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost.’

The Mystery Incorporated gang meet horror writer Ben Ravencroft (voiced by the inimitable Tim Curry, playing the role to the hilt) and are invited to his peaceful hometown of Oakhaven, Massachusetts. Upon arrival, they see that the town is awash with tourists as the ghost of persecuted witch, Sarah Ravencroft (Ben’s ancestor) is apparently haunting the town. And so, it is up to the gang to get to the truth and find out if it really is a ghost or another case of ‘Old man xyz’.

The first thing to note is that the animation is gorgeous as it is the same Japanese studio that worked on ‘Scooby Doo on Zombie Island.’ Also, the music and soundtrack are pretty banging, particularly the Hex Girls song (which I’ve placed below for your auditory pleasure- you’re welcome!)

The story itself starts off okay but does build up towards an exciting conclusion. The final reveal is quite beautifully animated with the power revealed but it does lacks the intrigue and bite of Zombie Island.

The film overall is definitely worth a watch and not too scary for the little ones; my 5 and 8 year old daughters enjoyed it and were not too scared at all.

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

LINK- Ms Marvel Can Change the World

LINK- Mysterious Cities of Gold Complete Series 3 Review

LINK- Hilda Complete Series Review

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review

The Very Pulse of the Machine (Love, Death and Robots)- Episode Review

A while back I did a review of Love, Death and Robots Season 1 and, whilst I appreciated an animated anthology series, I felt it was a bit too edge-lordy for its own good. Much like manga and *sigh* 'Japananimation' in the early 90s here in the UK, what we were getting was the extreme, gratuitous violence and sex stuff. Now, there's nothing wrong with that but I don't think many would disagree that Doomed Megalopolis, Wicked City or Urotsokidoji were the best examples that the medium had to offer at the time. We were getting them as they sold and found a cult niche here in the West after interest in Akira. However, it took a while for the great stuff to get here; Bubblegum Crisis, Dragon Ball, Nadia: Secret of Blue Water or any of the Ghibli films (except the bastardised Nausicaa- Warriors of the Wind) .

And so, after three seasons I think Love, Death and Robots has finally produced a masterpiece short film which deserves recognition. 'The Very Pulse of the Machine' is a gorgeously animated film in the style of Moebius from animation studio Polygon Pictures. The story is based on a short from Michael Swanwick and looks at the journey of a lone astronaut, Martha, stranded on the moon of Io, trying to find her way out whilst her oxygen slowly depletes. It is a psychological piece as we have Martha, superbly voiced by Mackenzie Davis, having a conversation with an invisible entity, or it could delusions caused by a mixture of hypoxia and morphine.

It's a very existential piece, not just because of the isolation of the astronaut, but because the individual is in conversation with something greater than herself. I found that very interesting as the dialogue was very philosophical and profound in places. I won't spoil it but the film evokes memories of 2001: Space Odyssey and the Star Child; death is not the end but a new part of the journey and that's a beautiful thought. The crescendo of the soundtrack at the denouement is spectacular and still sends shivers down my spine when I hear it.

For me, 'The Very Pulse of the Machine' is the high watermark for Love, Death and Robots. I look forward to seeing where the series goes from here.

Disenchantment Part 3- Series Review

And so we get to part 3 of Disenchantment, a series with promise that hasn’t quite hit its stride yet… despite nearly 20 episodes. After 2 seasons/ parts, I was not invested in the characters as they hadn't been developed enough and the stories, while fine, were just not interesting enough overall. Would part 3 be able to change my mind?

Well, at the end of the previous season Bean was apparently burned at the stake for being a witch. However, she was actually saved by Queen Dagmar and holed her up in an underground cavern system populated by strange and horny elf like creatures called Trøgs. We see Bean, Elfo and Luci try to adapt to life in this strange new world.

Meanwhile, above ground the nefarious Odval is planning his Machiavellian scheme to replace King Zøg with his more incompetent and malleable son Derek. This is the main thrust of the season as we see Derek growing from a naive Ralf Wiggum-like character into a more confident teen by adventuring into the woods and going on a Walkabout to 'find himself'.

Derek's journey of self-discovery is well handled, as is Bean's adventure in Steamland but it feels like the show is treading water. There are a few moments of growth and plot development but the show feels flabby. At times it reminded me of Lost in that there were some episodes where nothing of consequence happened at all and the moments of emotion just felt tacked on. Elfo falls in love with a boat, Bean falls for a mermaid, Zog is relieved to find that Bean is alive again yet these don't resonate as they feel clunky and inconsequential to the plot and characters as a whole. This is a shame as this season has really started to develop the characters further but again, it just feels flat. Luci is barely there and says little of consequence whilst Elfo is the emotional punch bag.

I feel the show has a kind of identity crisis as it want to be edgy with a sense of insouciance but it falls flat. I'll watch the whole run of the show as I don't think it'll go for much longer but I do feel it's been given more than a fair chance but hasn't taken the opportunity to shine. It's a shame as we are living in a real golden age of animation and many better series have been cancelled yet this frustrating one remains.

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Carmen Sandiego- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- The Stone Tapes (BBC)- Cult TV Review

LINK- Twin Peaks Retrospective

LINK- Twin Peaks: The Return Series Review

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

Hilda and the Mountain King- TV Movie Review

Hilda is an amazing 6 part graphic novel series and Netflix animated show which has run for 2 seasons and now a feature length movie.

The first season, a 13 part animated series, adapted the multi-award-winning and highly acclaimed graphic novel series by Luke Pearson about a young, blue-haired girl who goes on many adventures. Hilda lived with her mother in a cabin near the woods and mountains, away from people. It is in this landscape that Hilda went on her first few adventures filled with magical creatures and magical worlds that co-exist alongside hers/ours.

When their home is destroyed Hilda and her mother left their cabin and moved to the city of Trolberg. Here, Hilda adapted to life in an urban setting, meeting new people and the complexities that brought. She began to understand the beauty that can exist in the city and developed friendships through the Sparrow Scouts group she joined. It was here that the main thrust of the series pushed forward with each episode being an amazing and whimsical adventure. There were elves, stone giants, a Thunderbird and even a nightmare inducing teen thrown into the mix and it all ended up making sense as the world with a tapestry of story and character with its world-building logic.

I loved the original series and felt that the weirdness and slight tinge of unease was reminiscent of Over The Garden Wall, Gravity Falls and Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated.

With season 2, Netflix kicked things up a gear as we had lots of new stories which diverged from the comic series as most of this had been covered in the previous season. However, these original tales were excellent and continued the good work done in the previous season. It deepened the relationships between Hilda and the citizens of her world as they tried to navigate the threat posed by Ahlberg, a narcissistic figure who seeks to destroy the trolls and ascend to some form of power. He proved to be a great foil for our heroine over the course of the show and the season 2 cliffhanger finale, The Stone Circle. It was the final and longest episode of the series and featured the story arc of the final graphic novel which was released at the tail-end of 2020.

I reviewed the graphic novel but this episode was a little different as Hilda and her mum get thrown out by an accident occurring in the Nissa No-where Space. They end up inside a mountain inhabited by trolls and must make their way out back to Trolberg. In another plot, The Trolberg Safety Patrol end up stranded outside the walls with David and Frida and must survive the night. Both plots complemented each other as they are about surviving against the odds in perilous circumstances. There are some pretty close calls and squeaky bum moments but it all ends up pretty well, until the final moments which set up the feature long movie where Hilda and the changling swap places with the changling now in Trollberg and Hilda stuck with the trolls in the mountains.

With Mountain King, released a year and a half after that season 2 cliffhanger, we finally get closure and the hopes of a satisfying conclusion. So how does it fare? Firstly, the hour and a half movie shows an uptick in production values and intensity with a Saul Bass style Hitchcock-ian opening credits. The animation has always been beautiful and the production value really high on the series but, for this feature-length movie, you can see they have paid extra attention to the fluidity and scope of the animation.

The story picks up with with Hilda stuck in the mountains. Her mum and friends go looking for her but the Trolberg Safety Patrol put the town into lockdown and go on the media charm offensive, even going so far as to go to schools and showing one of those cheesy infotainment films that were prevalent in the 70s and 80s. Frida and David don't put up with the propaganda that casts the trolls as blood-thirsty monsters and lead a children's rebellion. They lead a protest with classic chanting zingers including 'Ahlberg smells. Silence the bells' and 'We are on the side of peace and communication. The enemies of misinformation and fear'.

Meanwhile, the Trolberg Safety Patrol up the ante with a mobile bell ringing van and a sonic gun turns trolls into petrified stone. When the Mountain King is freed after Hilda fulfills a few errands for him in exchange for her humanity, Hilda and friends must work together with the other trolls to rectify the situation before an all-out war destroys both sides.

When Trolberg is attacked by the Mountain King and his acolytes, the town's people gather together to fight back. Will it be war?

I won't spoil it as the movie is a beautiful and meditative work. It is a very humanist piece as we understand how the trolls live and why they have gathered around Trolberg. We gain empathy and understanding to these much maligned creatures and through troll Hilda, who goes native, we understand the cruelty of the bells being placed on their noses and the impositions placed on them by the humans.
We also see that individuals can have collective power. The protests, supported by the teacher, makes me think of the current real world situation where the youth movements across the world are leading to change and holding those in power to account. Inversely, we also see how charismatic individuals can lie and manipulate the situation to get people to do what they want.

The film ends on a note of hope and there isn't a deus-ex machina to make everything okay, and I like that. Life is messy and things don't always reach a neat conclusion and the graphic novel series, animated series and movie shows that and respects its audience to understand that too. The final 8 minutes in particular are gorgeously emotive and the music heightens the mood, almost bringing a tear to my eye.

Hilda is aimed at slightly older kids, it is a PG after all, but it is excellent for older people too as the central story about facing the challenges the world throws at us and being kind and understanding in the face of it all is universal.

It’s a great time for animation at the moment but Hilda is on a whole different level for me, surpassing much higher profile animations such as Disenchantment, having more heart and earnestness that many of its contemporaries.

Hilda is a masterpiece of storytelling and animation and the movie encapsulates all that makes the Hilda-verse so special.

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Resident Evil 7 in VR is a Marvel

LINK- The Last Guardian: Video Game Review

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK- Ms Marvel Can Change the World

LINK- The Rise of Retro Gaming During Covid

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

The Cuphead Show Trailer

Cuphead was a beautiful, but tough as nails, run and gun game with a 1920/30s cartoon aesthetic. I’d heard that the show had been in development for a while so when the trailer dropped I was suitably excited. From the looks of it the charm and ‘rubberhose’ style of animation (where the characters look like they are dancing even though they are standing still) remains.

Screen Shot 2021-06-12 at 8.47.54 PM.png

Over the past few years, we have had excellent reboots and revivals on Netflix, includingShe-Ra and Carmen Sandiego so I’m excited to see what is achieved with this new-old inspired property.

New He-Man Trailer Revealed

The new trailer for the He-man Netflix revival, Masters of the Universe: Revival, has just released and I am cautiously optimistic. Over the past few years, we have had excellent reboots and revivals of She-Ra and Carmen Sandiego so I am very pleased that He-Man is getting a chance to shine with a new coat of paint and a makeover. I loved the show in the 80s but it was nothing more than a glorified toy commercial, however this revival really has a chance to revitalise the charming but janky animation of old. The series remains true to the character designs and world from that series but hopefully will have a deeper and more fufilling story arc with Head Writer Keven Smith (of Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy fame) at the helm. The show drops on 23rd July so here’s hoping it good!

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors- Soundtrack Review

A warm fuzzy feeling fills my heart whenever I watch television shows and cartoons from my childhood. However, there are only a few that quicken my heart and make me yearn for simpler times, well, t least simpler as a kid and those include Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Inspector Gadget, Dogtanian, Around the World With Willy Fogg and… Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.

Thundering across the stars,
To save the universe from the Monster Minds!
Jayce searches for his father,
To unite the magic root,
And lead his Lightning League to
Victory over the changing form of Sawboss!
Wheeled Warriors explode into battle!
Lightning Strikes!

With these words Jayce and his Lightning League battled the Monster Minds and Saw Boss for 65 episodes. Produced by the hilariously named (at least I thought at the time) DIC studios and overseen by Jean Chalopin (of Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget and tonnes of other formative cartoons from the 80s) the show was grand and cheesy operatic drama and a big part of this was due to the epic music, created by Shuki Levy.

The soundtrack for the series has never been released… until now. Tele 80 crowdfunded the soundtrack and I backed it. After a seemingly long wait (it wasn’t that long actually but it seemed that way due to anticipation and slight Covid delays) I finally received my vinyl and CD.

I first came across the show when it was first shown in the mid 80s on Channel 4 but I saw it in my formative years again in the early 90s on Channel 4, where it was shown at weekends. I remember thinking how cool and ahead of it's time the animation was and how moody, mature and rocky the synthesizer soundtrack was.

Since getting the soundtrack I've listened to the album a few times now and the majority of the themes I remember are all here, however the soundtrack isn’t as ingrained into my mind as much as The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31 or Inspector Gadget are.

I'm not going to go through every single track here as that would be long and incredibly tedious for you to read so I'll pick out the highlights.

The album starts with the French opening credits. It has the instrumentation that we all know and love but with the French vocals. The track is okay but holds no real nostalgia for me, that'd be track 21, the English vocal track that played over the opening of the show, but this is the extended cut. Track 23 is the instrumentation of the opening credits, whilst track 22 has the ending vocals (‘Keep On Rolling’) and track 24 has the instrumentation of that, so you can get your hair rock on!

Now onto the back ground music (BGM):

Track 2 (The Fight of the Light Force) - starts off all mystical and woozily dreamlike but quickly the synthy beat, violin and jazz flute kick in and it's a veritable smorgasbord of pure 80s euphoria.

Track 4 (The Cunning of the Monster Minds) - lots of oboe and unsettling string picking make this a suitably creepy piece.

Track 6 (A Hope) - a light, chilled piece which wouldn't be out of place in a romance scene from some forgettable 80s movie.

Track 7 (The Fight Against the Monster Minds) - a consistent drum beat which is followed by a fluttering flute before a jazzy brass section comes in to add some uptempo jam before a crescendo of strings swells and hits.

Track 10 (All Together) - a relaxing piece which is sort of like a redux of track 9.

Track 11 (Moments of Clairvoyance) - breezy and airy sounding with a gentle wind chimey sound.

Track 12 (An Unknown World) - creepy and unsettling as a quick rhythmic mood sets in with heavy synthesiser sounds wend their way in and out. This track wouldn't be out of place in a John Carpenter film as it fits his ouvre.

Track 13 (Mysteries of the Universe) - upbeat funk with wailing guitar and jazzy brassy freestyling.

Track 18 (Imminent Danger) - sounds like an end of level boss from a PS1 game which is no bad thing. Heavy drums and waning guitar give way to moody rhythmic guitar.

Track 19 (Musical Bridges)- This track is a collection of 5 to 10 second bridged that are dramatic and concluded fight or action sequences. They are dramatic and bombastic, ending with a flourish.

Overall, there are plenty of tracks here for Jayce fans but the track that I most miss due to its omission is the darkly sinister driving imperial march sounding one that is reminiscent of St. Elmo's Fire/ La Passage Secret from the MCOG soundtrack. It was the track used when a discovery was made and is one of the most spine tingling tracks from the show and the Jayce equivalent, which shares a lot of the same DNA, is missing too. I’ll link it below so you can have a listen to both tracks.

The Hollow- Complete Season 2 Review

Season 1 of ‘The Hollow’ was a pleasantly surprising animated series which kept me hooked for the entire 10 episode run. When the series concluded, I was intrigued to see how they would continue the show as it ended it a very interesting way which mixed media.

In season 2, Adam, Mira and Kai find themselves in ‘The Hollow’ again but this time the rules seem to be different. There seems to have been a glitch in which our leads beat the game but didn't end up going home, they go 'home' but it is a glitched out approximation of home, with digital parents and NPC who are walking into lampposts etc. So over the course of 10 episodes our trio face the dangers of other teams who are playing the game to win but our three just want to go back to their real home. It's an interesting premise; what happens if you win a game but it glitches and traps you inside?

Season 2 of ‘The Hollow’ builds on the excellent first season but raises the stakes and places more focus on the interplay and relationship dynamics between the characters. They argue, fight, make up and act irrationally, all very human traits in a crazy digital online world as well as the real one. We get to understand the complex dynamic between Adam and Reeve, Kai and Vanessa, Skeet and Mira and understand why their game glitched.

The message is very clear, beware mega corporations who harvest your Big Data; giving away your information comes at a price, nothing is for free so read the terms and conditions. Post Cambridge Analytica, the world has seen that data is power which leads to influence and this show deals with that in its own clever way. The show is also a meditation on what it means to be alive and Artificial Intelligence, it reminded me of the premise of the video game 'Thomas Was Alone'.

The show moves at a cracking pace but highlights includes Wierdy's upbeat version of ‘Creep’ by ‘Radiohead’ and seeing Kai grow into his relationships with his peers. I won't spoil it but the final boss battle is pretty epic too.

The animation style is the same as the first, which is fine but to think with the ending that they did it would have been bold to go with a new art style and keep the show original and unique. However, Flash style animation it is but again this is not the selling point of the series, the story is top notch and the characterisation is very good.

With the ending of this series there is a possibility of season 3. Overall, this series is an under-appreciated gem and is well worth a watch. Look past the divisive art style and you will find a deep series with much to appreciate and admire.

LINK- The Hollow- Complete Season 1 Review

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power- Season 5 Review

Over the past 2 years we've had 4 amazing seasons of She-Ra and the the Princesses of Power and now we finally have the concluding season. So does the finale stick the landing and the rebooted She-Ra series become one of the finest animated series  of recent times?

She-Ra started off with usual Heroes Journey fare but then very quickly escalated and grew into something much more epic, featuring time travel, alternate dimensions and pocket universes; heady stuff indeed.

At the end of season 4, Hordak had signalled Horde Prime and Etheria had been revealed to the Empire, losing the protection the previous She-Ra (Mara) had provided it by placing it in a pocket dimension. The sword was broken and Adora's ability to call on She-Ra was lost.

This season the princesses face all out war as Horde Prime looks to leach the powerful magic from the Heart of Etheria for himself, and achieve God-hood by destroying the universe and making everyone left in his image. With the majority of the rebels overwhelmed by the Prime clones, the remaining faction undertake guerrilla warfare, freeing small areas one at a time, whilst battling their friends who are under Prime control from microchips in the neck.

One of the shows biggest strengths is the attention it gives its characters, it has always allowed them a chance to develop arcs that are subtle and true and this holds in this concluding season too. Mermista, Scorpia and Perfuma all get a chance to shine as they undergo their own trials but the biggest character development is with Entrapta. She learns to appreciate and understand her friends as well as continuing her love of tech. She has some of the funniest and most touching moments and is MVP as she has to find a hack to prize the brainwashing microchips off of her friends and most of Etheria.

Married couple, Netossa and Spinarella are heavily featured as they join the rebellion too but their powers are given more credence and their true power is shown in all its might as they fight against each other as the Horde chip has control over one partner. It's all quite heavy stuff but dealt with the usual confidence and honesty that has made this show so popular amongst the LGBTQ+ community and those looking for wider representation in media.

The complex, maybe even toxic, relationship between Catra and Adora is explored as we gain more insight into Catra's motivations. We get to understand her abandonment and attachment issues and whilst not entirely sympathetic, we do start to understand why Catra is the way she is. The CatDora relationship comes to the fore, especially at the 2 part conclusion as they race to the Heart of Etheria against Horde Prime.

Horde Prime is the archtypal supervillian, his motivation is pure power. He is a malevolent gentleman, inviting Catra and Glimmer to dinner whilst serving her food and delicacies from long destroyed worlds. He seeks to rid the universe of emotions, which he sees as a weakness. He cannot be reasoned with and as he has been in power for so long and has succeeded in spreading the Horde Empire far and wide, doesn't need to explain his ideology except for the further acquisition of power.

With the players on both sides set, the various story threads all weave together to a stunning conclusion that will satisfy fans whilst raising the possibility of a movie or one off special. I won't spoil anything here but I felt extremely satisfied with how the series ended, honouring all the character arcs and motivations yet feeling like a real journey.

This season is well written with shades of dark and light incredibly well plotted with never a moment wasted. It doesn't lose its central message that friendship is awesome but can be hard work, whilst delivering gripping and emotional scenes, episode after episode.

I have loved this show and would recommend it for anyone with a passion for animation but also anyone who appreciates well rounded characters and tightly scripted stories.

LINK- MCOG Soundtrack on Vinyl Review

LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- An English Geek in Saudi Arabia

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Nintendo: My One Constant in My Gaming Life

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 4- Complete Series Review

Fans of this blog will know that I have a deep affection for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. What many thought would be a bright and breezy reboot of the classic 80s Filmation series quickly established itself as a complex character-driven animation with an over-arching storyline that added much more nuance and lore than the original series ever had.

Season 3 of She-Ra changed the status quo of the entire series as it got all 'parallel universes and 'inter-dimensional portals' on us. So how does season 4 carry on the momentum established in the excellent previous seasons?

Catra finds herself even more isolated as the series continues.

Catra finds herself even more isolated as the series continues.

Well, at the finale of the last season we found out that Hordak's plan was to open a portal to bring Horde Prime and the intergalactic Horde army to Etheria. Adora finally gained some insight as to who she really was and where she came from, and Catra went full heel and sustained some cool but temporary evil looking scars to show how bad ass she really had become. It all reached a dizzying crescendo that culminated in the ultimate sacrifice from a figure that would change the structure of the Princesses Alliance forever and have grave implications for the Best Friends Squad moving forward.

The new series kicks off as Glimmer has her coronation as Queen of Bright Moon. As she ascends the throne and has to deal with diplomatic concerns, Bow and Adora take the lead on missions. The excursions meet with initial success until a shape shifter, Double Trouble, enters the fold and adds some espionage into the unfolding drama. They tap into the growing hostility between Glimmer and Adora and light the fuse to the powder keg, and we see the group splinter in spectacular fashion.

Meanwhile, Catra bonds with Double Trouble, falls out with Scorpia and realises that victory is not all its cracked up to be as she and Hordak take over most of Etheria.

What this season does is look at the military industrial complex in more detail, specifically the many levels of bureaucracy that underpin it- heady stuff for a 'tween cartoon'. Glimmer struggles with the duties required from being a Queen, co-ordinating the campaign whilst sending her friends and colleagues out into the thick of battle whilst struggling with the guilt that mounting casualties unsuccessful campaigns rack up. Catra struggles with gaining resources to take the Horde war machine forward whilst Hordak struggles to move forward with creating the ultimate weapon without his colleague and potential love interest, Entrapta.

The series has a few standout episodes, including number 7, where Hermista (one of my fave characters) gets her moment to shine as she leads the bottle episode where they try to figure out who the mole in the Alliance is, it's very stirring stuff with just the right amount of humour thrown in to add levity to proceedings. In another episode Light Hope glitches and whilst she is rebooting does some strange stuff, much to Adora's annoyance and our mirth. In another standout episode, the relationship between inept Horde soldier Kyle and his comrades is examined as the concept of family is looked at, they come across as sympathetic minions in a greater geo-political situation rather than faceless goons.

What I really enjoy about She-Ra is that the storyline is intriguing but the strong characterisation and the journey that each character goes through endears them to you, you become invested, be they hero or villain. There are definite shades of grey; Hordak seeks acceptance from his superior, Catra has attachment issues, Entrapta finds it hard to make friends, Scorpia is in a toxic relationship with Catra and Kyle wants to be lived and respected

The varying story threads all weave together wonderfully reaching an exciting and intergalactic climax as a deus ex machina is pulled and the status quo is shifted yet again. All in all, it all adds up to another great season that is building to a final battle between Etheria and the Horde Prime Empire.

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 1 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 2 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 3 Review

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review

LINK- Ms Marvel Can Change the World

Carmen Sandiego- Complete Season 2 Review

I've been eagerly awaiting season 2 of Carmen Sandiego as I stated that the first season was an excellent series with a compelling story arc. It seems that the old beards at the Emmy's agreed as it is now an award winning show, garnering an Outstanding Achievement in Individual Animation nod.

Carmen Sandiego Season 2 is a stunning series.

So how is the second season? Does it build on an excellent first season? Yes, yes it does! The story continues from the major plot twist at the end of season 1 and Team Carmen now have Shadow San in their ranks. He assists with taking out VILE in the formats 'caper of the week'. However, it's not all standalone episodes with a 'bad guy of the week' as this season we are treated to get the back stories of how Zack and Ivy met Carmen and about Shadow San's ascent to VILE faculty member.

Finding out they have been betrayed by a member from their faculty, VILE spend a lot of the episodes searching for a new member to join their nefarious ranks. Along the journey we find out more about Carmen's family and she builds a base of operations with her surrogate family, Shadow San, Zak and Ivy after she nearly dies. It's all very heartfelt character building stuff and with this show it feels earned, not cheaply melodramatic.

The standout episodes for me are when the creepy Paper Star returns and Carmen squares off against her in Tokyo, whilst Shadow San shows just how bad ass he is, defeating goons with the use of chopsticks... trés John Wick. Also, the caper in New Zealand set to Swan Lake is very creatively and artistically beautiful as the choreography is wonderful.

The season is a delight and the finale ends on a cliffhanger as we get some insight into Carmen's real family and the true story about how Shadow San found her. This sets up the next season as Carmen knows who she is looking for now…

So, overall the stylish animation by Chromosphere is still as beautiful as ever and the voice acting by Gina Rodriguez is a lot more natural sounding as she seems to have found her groove. The voices of Zak and Ivy have grown on me too and I have become used to their broad Baaaahstaaan accents. Season 2 of Carmen Sandiego is still a beautifully animated edutainment *shudder* show that revels is dropping knowledge bombs whilst delivering a fun and at times gripping storyline. Alongside She-Ra, Netflix is really the home of quality retro animation revivals, that honours what went before but does its own more modern thing. Check this show out folks!

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Carmen Sandiego- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 1 Review

LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 2 Review

Disenchantment Season 1 Part 2- Series Review

It's been a looong wait for the second part of Disenchantment season 1 but now it's finally here.

The original show ended on a cliffhanger as the last 3 episodes of series 1 part 1 were heavily narrative driven with a story arc that had a more emotional core. King Zog was after the Elixir of Life but things took a dark turn as Elfo was killed to make the Elixir of Life and Bean had to choose between reviving him or bringing her mother, Dagmar, who had been turned to stone, back to life. She chose her mother, leaving with her to travel to Maru to fulfil a 'prophecy' but this decision had devastating consequences as the people of Dreamland were turned to stone, leaving Kind Zog alone.

So the new episodes kick off straight after these cliffhangers as Bean now lives in Maru with her mother but realised that there is something sinister occurring all around her. She find out the truth about her mother and the devastating consequences, but not the details, of being a key part of the prophecy.

Bean and Luci go through heck to get Elfo back!

Bean and Luci go through heck to get Elfo back!

This leads to Bean realising her error and literally going to Hell to find Elfo. These first 2 episodes are excellent and truly creative, but after our main protagonist are reunited it's pretty much standalone episode of the week until the last 2 episodes. Whilst solid the standalone episodes do not really move the story forward but rather world-build, adding texture and richness to this land. A couple of standout episodes change the status quo of the world and show that there is plenty of scope with the introduction of other lands, especially Steamland, but as it is, we end up in a similar impasse with lots of balls in the air but yet none have landed.

The show raises a chortle or, dare I say, titter but there was no belly laugh for the duration of the season. There were plenty of Easter eggs linking it to Futurama but on the whole, the show is more of the same. If that was your thing that's fine but if you struggled the first time round, this will not ease your pains.

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Carmen Sandiego- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

Twelve Forever- Complete Series Review

Twelve Forever is a 25 part animated series centred around Regina (Reggie), a 13 year old girl who doesnt want to throw away her toys. She instead travels to a fantastic land, called the Endless, where her toys come to life and she becomes Twelve, the super awesome athletic hero of the world. Todd, her best friend, has morphing powers and their friend Esther has flying abilities. Together they fight the ills of society and puberty. The show is cute and sweet as it is presented in a superflat art style, familiar with fans of Adventure Time, but it deals with real weighty emotional issues such as dealing but being a young carer, societal expectations of beauty, negative formative experiences and much more.

In episode 2, we are introduced to the big bad of the show, the Butt Witch, voiced by Matt Berry of It Crowd and Disenchantment fame. For the duration of the series he tries to destroy the optimistic and fantastical world of Endless by corrupting its citizens.

Across 25 episodes the three lead characters go through many of the perils we've all probably experienced in our lives but it is presented through the fantastical world of Endless. If I were being pretentious I would say that the series was showing the pre-pubescent to pubescent forms of Ego, Super Ego and the Id and its effect on youth. According to Freud's psychoanalytic personality model, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains our innate human drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the superego. The three characters represent the 3 parts of Freud’s theory which is a characterisation common in many stories ranging from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings; Reggie is the Id, Esther is the Super Ego and Todd is the Ego.

As you can see, for a 'kids' cartoon this show does get deep and it presents quite difficult concepts at a child friendly level. As a grown up man-child the show had me reflecting on my own childhood and some of the trials and tribulations I faced. Twelve Forever is a solid show that looks at positive representation and with each episode being only about 13 minutes long, it is easily bingeable if that's your wont to do. Check it out on Netflix!

Carmen Sandiego Season 2 Trailer Drops

Carmen Sandiego is the latest rebooted animated series on Netflix which is based on an older property, in this case many edutainment video games and multiple prior animated series. I reviewed the entire first season and liked it a lot, praising the art style and character development. So, it is with bated breath that I’ve waited for the next season to drop and lo and behold, a new trailer landed recently that announced the new season would be showing on Netflix on 1st October. I can’t wait!

The Hollow- Complete Season 1 Review

The Hollow is a 10-part animated show with an intriguing central mystery. We are introduced to three teenagers, Adam, Kai and Mira, who wake up in a cell with amnesia. They work together to escape and figure out who they are, where they are and how to get back home.

The three main protagonists have a great dynamic; Adam is a strong leader with super strength, Kai can fix machines and Mira can talk to animals. With their abilities they try to survive in the harsh and mysterious worlds they seem to be inexplicably pushed around in, and as they do so they find the other powers they have.
The premise is très J. J. Abrams, but what separates this from ‘Lost’, apart from it sticking the landing--which is does, is that it does things I haven't seen other animated shows too. It is quite unique in the way it pushes animation boundaries. Once you're a few episodes in an overriding mythology comes through and so, predicting the ending may be possible but the finale is very original and a bit left field.

In terms of animation, there is an issue for me here. Whist I love the story and characterisation, the animation style left me a little cold. I like and character designs and world building but the Flash animation-style cycles look very dated. This is a shame as even shows with a poor animation legacy like Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated have remained true to their origins but updated it so it looked incredible in 2011, whilst this looks... like 1960s Hanna-Barbara, or gosh forbid, Filmation quality animation. But dodgy animation aside, the show is well worth a watch as the mystery will keep you guessing to the end. In fact, without spoiling the ending, the show could continue with different animation styles as the story lends itself to this quite easily. I look forward to seeing where the creators take this show next.

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 2 Review

LINK- Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

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LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 3 Review

The first two She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series have been a bright and generally breezy reboot of the classic 80s Filmation series, but boy does season 3 crank things up a little. There are three main through-lines over the course of this season; Hordak's plan, which is suitably nefarious, involves portals and the Horde army travelling through space and time to take over Etheria; Adora and her Best Friend Squad deepen their bonds on a journey through the Crimson Waste to find more First Ones technology and learn what happened to Mara, the previous She-Ra, and Catra and Scorpia become closer as they search for the tech in the Crimson Wastes too. The three storylines converge in dramatic fashion and, from episode 5, get pretty heady.

This series has a laser focussed storyline but the true area of development is character as we delve further into all our invested parties.
A surprising addition to this is that we learn about Hordak's motivations, and even though he is the big bad in this series, it is hard not to feel a little sympathy for him. Special mention must be made of the cool artistic style to present Hordak's back story, all art deco edgy stuff, similar in style if not colour palette of Batman: The Animated Series. This episode, episode 2, also sees his friendship (maybe romance?) with Entrapta grow. What could have been a 2-dimensional bad guy, becomes more intriguing and the storyline goes to some pretty heady places, not Pulp Fiction level dark but for a 7+ kids show... pretty noir. Alternate realities, the darkest timeline and time and space being all wobbly wobbly feature in this series and actually play a huge part in the finale.

Fans of this blog will already know how much I like this series but this series ups the ante and delivers powerful, tour de force storytelling whilst remaining humorous and true to the characters it has developed. I've said it twice before, but I will say it again: miss this show at your peril.

She-Ra Season 3 Airing This Friday

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power on Netflix is a modern reimagining of the classic ’80s Filmation series. She-Ra is a part of the He-Man universe and so holds a place in many fans’ hearts, and as expected this led to many debates about the redesign of the characters. Some arguments seemed to be reasonable, like some complaining about the more cartoony super deformed art style, or the redesign of She-Ra herself, but some seemed purposely argumentative and toxic like why was there a wider LGBTQ and minority ethnic representation on the show and why She-Ra herself was less 'feminine'.

I personally thought that She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 1 was an excellent 13 part animated series with a lot of heart. I knew that it would not please all fans of the 80s show but as a father 2 young daughters I liked the strong female lead, the characterisation of the entire cast and the well told Heroes Journey tale.

I thought that the second series continued well from where the last series ended with She-Ra still being trained by Lighthope and making slow progress. The Princess Alliance was holding strong against the continuous daily onslaught of Horde robots. At only 7 episodes the second series was light on storyline but it really focused on the characters and the world of Etherea. Along the way it tackles some heavy topics like toxic friendships, ageism and bureaucracy through the lens of animation.

So, it is with bated breath that my daughter and I have been waiting for the third series to drop and with the trailer dropping this week, it seems like the wait isn’t going to be so long! I am ecstatic and super excited to see where writer Noelle Stevenson et al. take us next.

The Clangers Soundtrack on Vinyl Review

Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin were giants of British animation, creating Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine and, of course, The Clangers. With their stop motion animation studio, Smallfilms, they have delighted legions of fans young and old over the last 50 or so years. Part of the charm of Smallfilms was the craftsy handmade products they made, and that could also be reflected in the magical music. I've already discussed that the Bagpuss Soundtrack had recently been released on vinyl but far more exciting for me is the recent re-release of the out of print Clangers Original Television Music by Vernon Elliot.

The music is from the original 26 episode run of the series from 1969, which was recorded in a local Kentish village hall. 50 years after their initial recording, these pieces of music have lost none of their wonder and charm. The Clangers soundtrack remains a seminal work piece of work, not just of children’s television, but of music as a whole. Composer Elliot's contribution to The Clangers was great as he created a warm and recognisable soundscape in an alien world. Listening to the music away from the show you can appreciate the craftsmanship that went onto the compositions; it is all beautifully minimalist performed mostly on a bassoon (in which Elliot was an expert) and a clarinet, harp, glockenspiel and flute. Highlights for me include Music, Cloud and Music of the Spheres as they are all very unique soundscape pieces that stand on their own.

The Clangers Soundtrack is a wonderful album that can be appreciated for its music in isolation from the show and is highly recommended.

LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- Inspector Gadget Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Sonic Mania Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack